


Intertwined

by my-bugaboo (DumAmoVivo)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, F/M, Fluff, and a tad of angst if you squint, but very briefly, i mean a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2021-02-27 15:41:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,006
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22099657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DumAmoVivo/pseuds/my-bugaboo
Summary: It's been nearly a year since Marinette returned from New York City and she couldn't be happier. Someone else, however, needs a little reassurance of that.
Relationships: Luka Couffaine/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 2
Kudos: 91





	Intertwined

“Come on, I promise you this will be fun!” 

No response. 

“It’s almost Christmas and this is the closest thing we’ll get to having snow” 

Still nothing. 

“I’ll buy you an ice cream if you at least try it out?” 

Marinette smiled in satisfaction when her newest client, Leo, an eight year old little boy who was the son of one of her dad’s friends, hobbled out onto the ice. Design School was expensive, something she’d found out about half a semester in. The good thing was that she had gotten considerably better at babysitting over the years. 2 kids a day at $12 an hour for five days a week and she’d have enough money to pay for classes...eventually. It was the holiday season now though which meant a considerable increase in clients, given all the gift shopping that required certain little ones to not be present. Marinette quickly found out that the ice rink was a big hit with the kids. Usually. They learned something new and got as close to winter as one could get in Paris. Besides, Philippe loved the increased enrollment in youth figure skating classes during that time of year. 

Marinette though? She loved visiting the ice rink for a different reason. The place was covered in blue hues all around. Everything from the neon fluorescent lighting that bounced off of the ice to the navy details embroidered on the white rental skates. But one very specific shade of blue stood out amongst all the others. One that was usually only present during the season and on select days otherwise. One which stood out everywhere else but blended in perfectly here. One that she just couldn’t get enough of. It was the very shade that she was staring at now, so intensely that she didn’t realize she had reached the end of the rink. 

“Marinette!” 

She toppled over the edge of the barrier very ungracefully and with a loud thud. A sharp pain ran through her body from the impact but quickly dissipated. She remained still though, eyes focused on the lights that seemed brighter than ever. One hand reached up to the pocket of her jacket and she breathed a sigh of relief when she found Tikki still in her place. 

“You okay?” Leo asked from where he had successfully stopped on the other side of the barrier. “That looked bad.” 

“It’s all good,” Marinette groaned as she sat up on her elbows. She was about to make the suggestion of postponing ice skating in favor of that ice cream she had promised when a hand was suddenly in front of her. Her eyes trailed up the white and pale blue glove to the jacket she was so used to seeing lying around. Finally, she laid eyes on the person who was behind the accident in the first place. 

“Need some help?” The faintest of smirks was present on his face but the look in his eyes was genuine. She took his hand without hesitation and let herself be hoisted up with ease. 

“Thanks,” Marinette answered and the two shared a smile for a brief moment before she became very aware of the child looking between the two of them with curiosity. “Oh, Leo this is my-“ 

She didn’t know how to even begin explaining. How much information was too much for an eight year old? What guarantee was there for no further questions asked if she gave him the true answer? What else could she say? Her friend? Yes, they were that but they were also so much more. They had been through so many things together and it just couldn’t be boiled down to a _friend_. Maybe she was overthinking it. This was an eight year old after all. 

“Your what?”

She was definitely overthinking it. “Luka. This is Luka.” Marinette watched the puzzled little face look between her and Luka a few times before trailing down to where their hands were still intertwined together. When she realized what he was looking at she pulled her hand away as if she’d just been burned. “Um,” Marinette picked up her hat from the floor and fixed it on her head once more. “What do you say we go get some lunch?” 

“Then ice cream? Because technically I did try, you’re the one who fell over.” Leo said as he shakily made his way towards the exit of the rink. Luka let out a small laugh and Marinette smiled a little as her cheeks flushed. The two of them walked side by side around the rink, Marinette making sure Leo didn’t fall (though now that he had given it a try he looked confident) and Luka making sure she didn’t (it was his duty as an employee of the skating rink after all).

“I’ll see you later?” Luka reached for Marinette’s hand one more time, a smile on his face that was sweet and soft. The only thing Marinette could focus on was the feeling of Luka’s hand in hers. She could feel the heat of his body even through the gloves he was wearing. He had always been warm and comforting to her. That feeling, the feeling of the two of them together, was one of the purest forms of love she could think of. She absolutely adored the way he simply felt like home. It was a feeling she never wanted to leave behind. 

“Yeah,” Marinette slowly nodded as she tried to bring her thoughts back down to earth. Her eyes trailed down and landed on their still intertwined hands. She beamed for a few seconds before looking back up, attention immediately caught by his ever-piercing gaze. “Later.” 

* * *

“Do you remember last Christmas?” Luka mused as he worked on separating the green and red m&m’s from the rest of the colors. The store had run out of the holiday packs and the Gingerbread House party Marinette was hosting was set to start later that evening. He had already poured 12 bowls of different colored sprinkles, sorted the wafers out by color, unwrapped exactly 84 candy canes, and melted a bunch of peppermints and various hard candies. Marinette had done the hard part though. She had refused to have anything other than perfect homemade gingerbread so their entire apartment building had smelled like Christmas spices for the past week. 

“Of course I do,” Marinette couldn’t help but grin as she recalled the memory. She was in the process of stacking the various sizes and shapes of already baked gingerbread all across the table. “You dragged me out of my office in New York and brought me back.” The two of them locked eyes from across the room and somehow they knew they were recalling the same memory. It had been Christmas Eve and Marinette didn’t have any plans other than working all night long to finish a particularly big project. It was the only thing she had been doing for the past month and needless to say she had developed a bad habit of forgetting to eat and sleep. Luka had shown up at her door close to midnight and after their fair share of arguing they were on the next flight to Paris. “My parents were ecstatic when we showed up at the bakery the next morning. I haven’t been back to New York since.” 

“Do you miss it?” Luka asked, suddenly very focused on the chocolates in front of him. “Designing in New York City?” Part of him was scared of the answer he would receive. He liked to think that the two of them were happy as they were, together in the place they called home. But he couldn’t deny the fact that Marinette had absolutely flourished in New York. The place was made for her and from the moment she had stepped foot there she had taken it by storm. Maybe it had been a little selfish of him to go see her. Maybe if he had let things be everything would have worked itself out. But as much as she thrived it was obvious that there was an insane amount of pressure on her. A pressure she hadn’t felt the likes of since her hero days, he knew that better than anyone. But she had agreed to go home for the rest of the holiday season then one thing turned to another and suddenly they were sharing an apartment. 

“I don’t think so,” Marinette finally answered, tearing Luka away from his own racing thoughts. “I was happy to be there. It was completely new and I think it was something I needed for a while.” Marinette wiped her hands on her apron and walked back over to the kitchen to pull out a fresh batch of gingerbread from the oven. “I also think you had a point last year when you told me that I wasn’t focused on myself and my work anymore. Coming home with you was also something I had to do.” 

Marinette was very aware of the lingering silence when she finished moving the little gingerbread people to their cooling racks. She had known Luka for years and very rarely was he silent. The melodies he hummed and their variations were a constant and she knew he was really deep in thought when they were nowhere to be heard. She smiled softly as she walked over to the table where the chocolates were almost completely sorted. 

“You don’t have to worry, you know.” Marinette reached for the various bags of gummy candies and began sorting them. “Right now you’re wondering if I, and therefore you, made the right choice in coming back.” 

“Last year you were working for one of the best fashion houses in New York and now you’re babysitting kids to try and get through design school. I mean you definitely backtracked there and it kind of feels like it’s my fault.” Luka was never one to beat around the bush. He had finally voiced the feelings that had been eating away at him for months now. Honestly, he felt a little relieved that they were out there now.

“Have you ever known me to do something that I don’t want to do?” Marinette offered a cheeky smile and was satisfied when he chuckled softly. She put down a bag of gummy bears and reached for Luka again. Once again their hands were intertwined together but now Marinette was focused only on him. “You have to know that this past year with you has been my best one in a long time. Yeah, there’s more to it, but you are probably my favorite thing that’s happened so far.” 

“Probably?” Luka asked, a coy smile on his face. Marinette laughed, pulling him close to her and giving him a soft, sweet, and loving kiss before leaving to start making the icing. She smiled when no more than a few minutes later she heard the melody to her favorite Christmas song being hummed from where Luka was now beginning to put all the candy decorations on the table. 

Luka’s thoughts began to drift again as he placed the decorations that were ready to go in their assigned spaces. He thought of a very big and very important conversation he had had with Marinette’s closest friends several weeks back and the purchase that closely followed it. He had given the little box to Tikki to guard and she was constantly assuring him that it was safe inside the miracle box. He had had long talks with the kwamis on various occasions about the subject and they were all in agreement: it was definitely the right move. Now, as he looked at where Marinette was sifting powdered sugar while having a very animated conversation with Tikki and Wayzz, he was more certain than ever before that he had made the right decision in buying that engagement ring. He called Tikki over and asked her for the box, one hundred percent certain that now was as good a time as any.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for mlsecretsanta gift exchange on tumblr, Happy Holidays everyone!


End file.
